Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Kellan

My need to find Josephine pushed me forward, despite the icky feeling of dread that loomed over me the closer I grew to the Dark Woods. I"d grown accustomed to the feeling of darkness over the years. I learned to push past the evil and get the job done.

I wish there wasn"t a revenge plot floating in my head. They rarely ended well, but this time, I"d die trying.

The strong whiff of food engulfed me after what felt like a two-hour walk from the hotel. The sound of chatter caught my ear from down the road. There must be a farmer's market close by, and I was in need of food.

My stomach wouldn't let me miss out on breakfast. I couldn't remember the last time I had a meal, not including a decent one.

The long rocky road began to smooth as a small village came into view. The buildings looked better off than the small community I'd run through previously.

It certainly smelled better.

The hustle and bustle gave me hope that I wouldn't gain food poisoning as I had over the years in different realms. The one thing I always missed about home was the cooking. I was meant to live south of the Mason-Dixon line that was for sure.

Some of the men gave me dirty looks as I walked through their small town. Others couldn't care less as long as I didn't bother them.

It was the third vendor on the right that drew me in. There was an array of donuts, pastries, and kolaches. The small, dark-haired woman behind the table looked up at me with big brown eyes. She had crow"s feet on each side of those dark orbs, but they smiled nonetheless.

She gestured toward the food in front of me and spoke in a different language. I dug a few gold coins from the depths of my jeans and placed them on the table.

I pointed toward the donuts and two cheesy pastries.

She began to wrap them up while I glanced around at some of the other vendors down the line. None had anything to drink, which I currently needed at the moment.

Turning back to the woman I asked, "Do you have any water?"

She looked up in confusion as she handed me my food. "Water?" I asked again, motioning a movement of drinking water.

She blinked at me. Obviously, the concept of sign language hadn"t made it to this realm yet.

"Thank you," I said, taking the food.

I unwrapped the donut and took a giant bite. Making my way down the road, I felt a familiar set of eyes on me. I stopped in the middle of the walkway, eating my donut and searching the faces passing by.

The wind blew against my skin, bringing in a hurricane of leaves and debris. That feeling of being watched came to a head when that red-eyed crow landed on an awning to my right.

I chuckled humorlessly.

This thing is relentless.

Someone gasped from behind me. I turned to see an elderly woman staring up at the crow behind me. She pointed her shaky finger behind my head, dropping the loaves of bread in her basket. I went to pick them up for her, but she shouted at me.

"No!"

Apparently no made it to their realm just fine.

A few people stopped to check on her, and following the length of her hand, they stared at the bird.

One of the men dressed in a pair of old slacks and a grungy dress shirt made eye contact with me. "You need to leave."

I jabbed my finger over my shoulder. "Because of that thing? It seems to have a thing for me."

The man moved the elderly woman behind him, taking a stance. "That bird is a bad omen. Leave, and do not come back!"

The tone of his voice told me they knew exactly who this bird belonged to. I put both palms upward in a surrounding motion and began to exit the town.

The whispers behind me confirmed that Deidamia was just as scary as I knew her to be. It fueled my anger and determination to get to her. I stopped several yards away from the village.

The man still watched me, making sure I left. "Can I find her that way?" I pointed toward the ever-glooming Dark Woods in the distance.

A billow of smoke rose from the midst of the woods. Who else lived in the woods besides the witch? I doubted anyone, so I figured that was the path of saving Josie and destroying the monster that destroyed me.

The man didn't answer. He turned his back and ushered the crowd of people watching me toward their village.

I'll take that as a yes.

The more I walked, the closer I grew to the Dark Woods at the end of the road. The sound of birds chirping and animals died off eventually. That scared me more than the woods staring back at me.

The animals could sense the danger that surrounded Deidamia. They feared her, which was a silent warning for me to do that also.

I stopped at the edge of the road that led down into the depths of a steep ditch and into the Dark Woods. The crow had followed behind me, shrieking and annoying what sanity I had left.

Picking up a rock, I turned and tossed it at him.

He shot up and toward me like a rocket, sending me backward down the ditch and onto my ass.

I watched as it flew above me and into the woods like a dare to follow him.

I closed my eyes and regretted it instantly.

Some invisible force sucked me backward against the ditch. The grass and dirt clung to me as my breath hitched in my chest.

Memories of my past crept into my brain, overpowering the strength I fought with and shoving me further down against the Earth.

Her strawberry-blonde hair was tied in a bun on top of her head. Her heart-shaped face was fuller than when we met because of the baby sitting on her hip.

She was smiling. Always smiling. When I left. When I came home. When she nourished our baby girl. It never mattered. She was my happy girl.

She craned her head to the side as I dipped my mouth down to her neck, smelling her sweet scent and wrapping my hand around her neck playfully.

"I'll miss you," I whispered into her ear.

She smiled, adjusting our baby girl on her hip to turn and look up at me. Those deep moss-colored eyes were so full of love that it made me sick to leave.

Her soft fingertips swept across my bottom lip, making me groan. "I miss you already, Kell."

I kissed the tips of her fingers and leaned my forehead against hers.

"How long will you be gone this time?" she whispered, laughing when Helena, our baby girl, tugged at her hair.

I smiled. "Two weeks, tops. He's jumped to the West Realm. It's the furthest away. So, it"ll take longer than last time?

She nodded, always understanding, even when she didn't. "Helena and I will be here when you get back. I'll go to the village sometime before then and get fresh apples to make your favorite pie."

"There is only one thing I want to eat when I get back."

Her cheeks flamed a dark red, and she shoved my shoulder out of embarrassment. "Don't talk like that in front of the baby, Kellen," she hissed.

"Helena, I will miss you, too."

She swung her small arms around my neck and gave me a sloppy wet kiss. I chuckled. I was in love with the feeling of being loved.

"We'll be waiting on you," she said.

I pulled away, stalking toward the door. I stopped and gave them one last look. "See you soon, sweet girl."

I sat up, gasping for breath.

It felt as if a cement block had weighed me down and forced me to endure my biggest regret over and over again.

That had been my biggest regret. That was the last time I'd seen my wife and baby girl.

Deidamia had snatched it all away from me, promised me a favor for a favor, and then broke her promise.

She never planned to give my family back to me.

She took their lives and lied to me about it.

She took away the only thing that grounded me in life. Then one event led to another, and I was promised my life back if I drank the elixir.

That was one of many lies she told me.

My family was dead because of her.

Tears raced down my face like heated drops of water. My cheeks were tight from crying. It'd been years since I cried. Years since I let myself fall back into those days I hated so badly.

With all the hatred in my body, I stood up and wiped my face.

The woods behind me were daunting. The crow sat on the lowest branch of the tree in front of me. All the leaves had fallen off like the others in the Dark Woods.

My parched throat screamed for water, but I knew I wouldn't find it where I was going. I stepped closer to the tree line, feeling death and darkness taking over the atmosphere.

The grass beneath my feet turned black, the tree branches jagged and looming over me in a canopy of sharp points and ghostly shadows.

I remembered nothing about my trip to Deidamia's castle.

I woke there with promises forced-fed down my throat and I fell for them hook, line and sinker.

Walking up the slanted hill, I dug my boots into the grimy mud and stopped once I made it to the top.

The makeshift trail looked plucked from a horror movie.

Branches circled overhead and a darkness surrounded each side of the trail, giving no light or indication of what watched you from a distance.

I couldn't show my fear. Deidamia was like an animal. She sensed it. Carefully, I started down the path, praying it led me to her castle. Who else would live in the Dark Woods?

Maybe I didn't need to think about it.

No one of interest to me would survive in the Dark Woods.

The sunlight hit my skin every few feet through the fog that acted as a canopy above me. The wind brought putrid smells and a brush of warm air so hot it seemed fire was nearby. Was that the smell of brimstone?

Though, the only smoke I saw was the billowing kind that came from a home. A castle.

Ash rained down on me after several yards into the forest. I smeared it between my fingertips, knowing it would lead me to her.

The crow had vanished from my sight, but the prickle on the back of my neck told me that he was still watching. The slingshot in my pocket waited on him.

Maybe this time I'd hit him right between the eyes and suck the life out of him like she'd sucked the life out of my wife.